More than 250,000 Buddhist demonstrators to stage protest against CDA

ThaisNews, April 19, 2007

Bangkok, Thailand -- Buddhist demonstrators affirm that they will gather more than 250,000 protesters to demand the establishment of Buddhism as Thailand's national religion.

A member of the Buddhism Protection Center of Thailand, Phra Thepvisutthikavi, revealed that anywhere from 200,000 -300,000 Buddhist demonstrators are expected to rally on April 26 to call on the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) to include Buddhism as the national religion in its revised draft of the constitution, despite CDA Chairman's Prasong Soonsiri's affirmation that such a revision of the constitution was not possible.

CDA Chairman Prasong said that the Constitution Drafting Assembly views Buddhism to be the nation's supreme institution, therefore it would be inappropriate for the religion to be included in the constitution.

The Deputy Secretary General of the Buddhism Protection Center of Thailand, Maj Gen Thongkhao Puangrodpan, affirmed that claims of political motivations behind his group's protest were groundless. The deputy secretary general said that monks would not involve themselves in politics and had a right to express their views.